1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microscope system.
2. Description of Related Art
As rapid progress is made in the field of biotechnology, it has become increasingly important in recent years to be able to observe a biological specimen over an extended period of time or to record an image of the biological specimen while keeping it in an intact condition. A container in which a biological specimen is placed is filled with a liquid referred to as a “culture medium” containing nutrients necessary to sustain life. The temperature at the container is maintained at approximately 37° C., while the humidity inside the container is maintained at a level close to 100%.
Japanese Laid Open Patent Publication No. H5-26802 discloses a thermostatic humidified chamber used to sustain both the temperature and the humidity in a specimen chamber at constant levels and allow microscopic observation of the specimen placed inside the specimen chamber through an observation window. In order to prevent condensation at the observation window, the thermostatic humidifier tank includes a heating element.
In such a microscope system, however, a difference in temperatures between the thermostatic humidified chamber and the microscope causes thermal deformation of parts constituting the microscope, which causes a problem of a focal plane being shifted with time.